‘Shameful’ to use Galwan soldier as Beijing Olympics torchbearer, says US lawmaker

It’s shameful that #Beijing chose a torchbearer for the #Olympics2022 who’s part of the military command that attacked #India in 2020 and is implementing #genocide against the #Uyghurs. The U.S. will cont. to support #Uyghur freedoms & the sovereignty of India.

— Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member (@SenateForeign) February 3, 2022

“It’s shameful that Beijing chose a torchbearer for the Olympics 2022 who’s part of the military command that attacked India in 2020 and is implementing genocide against the Uyghurs. The US will continue to support Uyghur freedoms and the sovereignty of India,” Risch wrote on Twitter.

Beijing on Wednesday kicked off a three-day Olympic torch relay with Qi Fabao, a regimental commander in the People’s Liberation Army who was seriously wounded during a 2020 border clash with Indian troops in the Galwan Valley, as one of the torchbearers, as per a report in China’s Global Times newspaper.

The clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Ladakh’s Galwan valley on June 15, 2020, was one of the deadliest such incidents, resulting in the death of 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese ones.

Qi took the torch from China’s four-time short track speed skating gold medalist Wang Meng, said the report.

The Beijing Olympics is being held in between Covid-19 outbreaks in China and is scheduled to start on February 4. The Olympic flame was flown in from Greece and will travel to various parts of the country before lighting the Olympic cauldron as a part of the opening ceremony.